Cogron (race)
The Cogron are an arthropoid race that evolved an advanced civilization centered on Cogro. They developed an influential Stellar Empire which peaked around 70,000 years ago, which has since seen a period of decline. Physical Characteristics Homeworld To understand the Cogron, one must first understand their Homeworld, and the environment in which they underwent most of their evolution. Cogro is a lush Desert World, though the term desert is used very loosely as usual. It is known for its abundance of canyons, valleys, mesas, and plateaus, a very vertically-oriented landscape, thanks in part to the world's lower gravity and comparatively weak erosive forces. The world has a large moon which revolves rapidly, and causes great unevenness in the distribution of surface water. Rivers regularly shift their flow entirely, and seas grow and shrink often in tune with the tides. Cogro also has a somewhat corrosive atmosphere due to the presence of certain lifeforms that thrive in the seas, and this leads to naturally-occurring acid rain occasionally. A small ring system is also present in the planet's orbit, and due to inevitable collisions and instability, in addition to tampering by the moon's gravity, small debris often falls to the surface. To thrive in this environment, the first Cogron civilizations had to learn to access their surroundings and the sky, and predict when events would occur, and plan to manipulate the environment so that its natural changes were a beneficial or benign occurrence rather than disastrous. Sapience was clearly favored. Appearance and Physiology The Cogron are considered arthropoids, due to their chitin exoskeletons. This exoskeleton covers their backs in several segments, and are very flexible like a pillbug's, allowing Cogron to roll, to rapidly descend hillsides and slopes without damage. The top and front of the head is also protected by the 'shell', with a small protrusion that may extend to protect the underside if necessary. The underside is soft tissue covered by leathery skin, and is where most of the openings in the Cogron's body are. The forearms of the four frontmost limbs also have protruding chitin. Cogron have a much more limited range of motion than humans for example, and are comparatively stiff. They have eight limbs in total, each one ending in three digits, used for grappling and hooking things (not nearly so dexterous as human hands). While usually quadrupedal, the Cogron can 'stand' on any pair of limbs just fine. When sleeping or climbing however, the Cogron rest on all eight 'legs'. The four frontmost limbs, with the chitin protrusions, are most often used as 'arms'. The underside of a Cogron has some openings. The same hole is used to dispose of waste and eat. To this end, taste and smell are conducted through nerves in the hands. To feed, the Cogron simply stuffs food through that opening to begin the digestive process. Drinking is done differently: to drink, a Cogron simply rests in a pool of water for a time, and sponge-like membranes lining its underside absorb water. During this process, the Cogron's breathing holes (on its head) are simply held above the water, meaning it could stay there as long as needed. In females, there is a second opening on the underside to allow an egg to be fertilized by a male, and to give birth when the time comes. Cogron young have a relatively short gestation period, but spend a longer time in development. While a mother may give birth after only four months, the child is entirely dependent on the mother for the first year of its life - unable to digest its own food or scale Cogro's vertical landscape. They spend much of this time riding on their mother's underside, protected from the outside world by the mother's chitin. The Cogron's head, besides its chitin defense, is very flexible, and their necks can traverse 270 degrees, compared to a human's 180, which with a bit of help from their eyes allows them to keep a good lookout behind or above them when necessary. Other than smelling and tasting, which is done through the limbs, the head is the center of sight and hearing, as well as speaking and breathing. The Cogron's hearing is very good, and can detect a larger range of sound than human ears. In addition, since the throat and neck are not used in digestion, advanced vocal chords developed instead, and this means they are also capable of producing a wider range of sound. Cogron languages are spoken, and include sounds which humans simply cannot make, or even necessarily be capable of hearing. Being obligate carnivores, a Cogron's diet is heavy in protein and fat, and includes a great deal of iron as well. What iron does not get used in blood cells is actually stored rather than wasted. Over time, this means that the nails and teeth get gradually replaced with iron, nails becoming claws. This takes a long time and a lot of effort however, and is often seen as the moment a Cogron achieves adulthood. To help process iron in this way, the Cogron have an extremely advanced cyclical digestive system, including auxiliary stomachs and special glands. One of these glands also excretes an acid the Cogron use to help dig and shape rock, similar to the capabilities of an Earth termite. An adult Cogron, with the help of their metallic nails and teeth and this secretion, allows it to mold rock as it digs. Cogron are most active at night, being nocturnal. Early History Middle History Late History: Stellar Empire The Cogron are one of the most enduring interstellar civilizations in the galaxy. While retaining but a shadow of their former might and influence, and having numerous changes in management as it suits them, the Cogron have maintained one united empire for tens of thousands of years, albeit with a few brief interruptions. Endurance may be a Cogron biological trait - but it's also a civilized one. Though, this is of course if you exclude the numerous Cogron asteroid nomad groups. Encounters with the Uhara One of the first races the Cogron came into conflict with was the Uhara, a race which had similar dietary restrictions and thus even had demand for the same planets. However, the Uhara were in a more nomadic state than the Cogron, constantly moving about and stripping planets of their wealth before moving on. The divided nature of Uhara society, and the fact that the Cogron were largely dismissive of the complex political nature of their civilization, resulted in a series of broken treaties and pacts. Cogron overlords would broker deals with one Uhara roving band, only to have another opportunistic warband swoop in and unknowingly violate that treaty. However, the Cogron, having no understanding that these were actually separate entities, took the Uhara to be a nuisance and dismissed negotiation as a viable means of dealing with them. Uhara marauders had struck at their outlying colonies for the last time - the Cogron Astrofleet was to wipe them off the map. The Cogron had little tangible success in wiping out the Uhara, however. While numerous Uhara fleets were engaged and destroyed, that very nomadic nature of the Uhara lead them to flee Cogron intervention. The Uhara left the homes of their birth and ventured far into what was for them unexplored space. In the process, the Uhara encountered the Desan, and, ever opportunistic, undertook the series of events which directly lead to the Triple Alliance: the Uhara Invasion. Thus, it could be said that the Cogron were the indirect original conspirators behind the creation of the Triple Alliance and the rise of Desan civilization to its height during the Desan Golden Age. Relations with the Desan Historians largely agree that any prolonged direct contact between the Desan and Cogron empires did not occur to any significant extent. Communications were extremely limited and even more unreliable in Classical Times than they are today. However, the two were certainly aware of each other and did have trade connections - albeit only indirectly, through other people. Since the Desan considered it their manifest destiny to rule the galaxy (going so far as to name unexplored regions of stars after admirals who had already claimed them) it is likely that the Desan would probably have at some point attempted an invasion of the Cogron. However, the Cogron were no pushover like the rivals the Desan had long contended with their region. The Cogron, at various times, arguably superceded or at least held par with the Triple Alliance's military capability. This military was more concentrated and focused on internal matters than that of the Desan, which was always abroad on wars of conquest or spread thin trying to assert the Alliance's hegemony over tributary states. Contact and trade was largely conducted through far-flung Cogron nomads or through interactions with powerful and wealthy intermediary empires which bridged the void between the the respective territories of the Desan and Cogron. Life and Society Agriculture and Domestication For much of history, there were pretty much only five ways to make a living in Cogron society: ranching, protecting the ranchers, stealing from the ranchers, ruling the ranchers, or working for the ranchers. This really sets the stage for everything else: meat is the primary component of a Cogron's diet. Ranching in order to produce meat in large quantities requires huge amounts of land (vertical as much as flat). Land, and the control of it, therefore, is directly connected to wealth. More than any other factor, disputes over land between ranchers would be the main catalyst to conflict. In the modern world, colonization of space was in no small part motivated by the ever-growing need for more land. While not the only livestock animal to be domesticated, the most common of all are the so-called 'yelplings'. Yelplings are relatively short, as far as Cogro life goes. They have powerful hindlegs resembling those of an Earth grasshopper, and use these to leap to and between points on a cliff face to feed on lichens and mosses growing there. Essentially, the yelplings graze on the sides of mountains and canyons. Unlike the Cogron, the yelplings are most active in the day, and sleep during the night. Ranchers have personnel working around the clock to protect the yelplings as they feed against predators and thieves, while leading them between pre-prepared grazing fields. Once night falls, the Cogron awake and round up however many sleeping yelplings as necessary to be slaughtered (if any are to be slaughtered that night) Kingship and Kingdoms Settlements and Working Life Servitude Warfare Law Culture Treatment of dead While other cultures throughout the galaxy may bury, cremate, and/or mummify their dead, the Cogron sees such practices as obscene, and instead recycle the body. The iron in the claws and teeth, the chitin, even sensory and vital organs, are used elsewhere wherever possible. In recent times, this practice is merely one alternative of many, and a person may choose to opt out of having their body recycled, in which case their remains are left alone and hidden away from scavengers. Architecture and art Cities The Home Recreation Technology